A “change of tone” in the national conversation about education is needed, the ASCL president will warn this morning, as almost half of leaders reported they had seen pupil absence because of disputes with parents.
John Camp, the chief executive of the Compass Partnership of Schools, will describe the findings as an “extreme – but apparently common – example of the fracturing of [the] unwritten social contract” between schools and families.
Teacher Tapp polling for the leadership union found 32 per cent of teachers and leaders reported absence where the reason was that parents or carers were “in dispute with school”. This rose to 48 per cent when just leaders were asked.
Schools Week investigations have revealed staff are receiving more abuse, with trusts introducing codes of conduct, writing letters to parents about their “personally abusive” complaints, and calls for a national campaign to prevent it.
